Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield already brought home hardware last season, and the Montreal Canadiens have a real case for even more in 2026-27.
Suzuki won the Selke as the league's top defensive forward, and Caufield claimed the Lady Byng, both landing on a team that reached Round 3 as the youngest roster in the league to start the season.
Montreal has now built on itself for four straight seasons, and betting against this group at this point feels genuinely unwise.
So who's actually positioned to win something this coming season? Here are five real possibilities.
Jacob Fowler could be this team's Calder Trophy candidate, and the path there starts with Sam Montembeault's situation.
Montembeault posted a .873 save percentage across 25 games last season, numbers that leave real uncertainty around his role heading into this year.
If Jakub Dobes falters after taking the starting job, Montreal likely turns to Fowler over Montembeault, given Fowler already backed up Dobes in the playoffs last spring and pushed Montembeault to third string.
Fowler posted a .908 save percentage in 17 games as a rookie, exactly the kind of sample that would put him in real Calder conversation if given a bigger workload.
Why Suzuki's Selke case depends on a healthy Barkov
Martin St-Louis is a tougher sell for the Jack Adams. He finished fifth in voting last season despite a 106 point campaign, actually worse than his runner-up finish the year before.
His realistic path to that trophy either comes as a lifetime achievement nod years down the road, or Montreal wins the Presidents' Trophy outright. Neither feels likely just yet.
Cole Caufield is a real threat for the Rocket Richard after posting 51 goals and 37 assists for 88 points, becoming the first Canadien to reach 50 goals since 1990.
Repeating a 50 goal season is genuinely difficult though, especially given his 19.8 percent shooting rate last year sat well above his career norm of 14.2 percent.
He's proven he can win it in any given season, but the numbers suggest betting on a repeat is a stretch.
Nick Suzuki has a real Selke case of his own after posting 29 goals and 72 assists for 101 points, the first 100 point season by a Canadien since 1985-86.
That race got a lot more interesting once Aleksander Barkov went down with a long term injury in training camp, opening the field for someone new to break through.
If Barkov comes back healthy though, voters may lean toward the comeback story over Suzuki's breakout, and writers tend to love a good comeback narrative.
Lane Hutson might have the clearest path of all toward the Norris. He finished fourth in scoring among defensemen with 78 points, trailing Cale Makar by a single point and outscoring Quinn Hughes by two.
Analytics models already have him as an elite two way defenseman, not just a point producer, and that gap between reputation and actual play could close fast if his production keeps climbing.
None of these five outcomes are guaranteed, but this roster is deep enough that multiple award possibilities exist at once, and that alone says plenty about where this franchise is headed.
Source: Likeliest Canadiens to Win NHL Awards in 2026-27
Which Canadien is most likely to win a major award this season, Suzuki or Hutson?
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